The Silence of the Night
by mysticalmew
Summary: The future of the pokemon world is uncertain. It has erupted into turmoil under the rule of an oppressive leader, seperated the largest cities of Kanto and Johto into small, ghetto-like villages to keep citizens under control. Only a special few can escap


Introduction   
  
Darkness had fallen, enveloping the tiny, nameless village in a cloud of eerie silence. Too small to be called a town, it was only a series of several small houses. Strangely, though, it was not always nameless; in fact, the group of dwellings which seemed to cower in fear of the terror already surrounding it was once a bustling, crowded empire, the center of a world most only could dream of.   
  
But not now.   
  
Zada didn't care about the past, though. It hurt her to think of all the things her life had been while her world, her present, was being threatened by a dark force: the reason she was crouched outside of her house, shivering under her thin cloak.   
  
Of course, some may wonder what was happening, or what had happened already. It was very difficult to understand, and was, in fact, something you had to see to truly believe. Most outsiders never were told the situation, but they had a good idea of it. It was quite difficult, as well, to not realize, no matter how ignorant one was, that the lands of Kanto and Johto had fallen. All it took was one good look at the villages---held together by fear and pain, and surrounded by a fierce barrier made of an electric current. All it took…  
Some would argue what led to the takeover, but they would agree upon one thing: the effects were devastating.   
  
Amidst the chaos of a pack of Houndour rampaging through Celadon City, one theory states, a dark organization following in the footsteps of the long dead Team Rocket came into power. They promised that if they were leading the government, the Houndour problem would erode into nothing.   
Most people, scared already, didn't resist at all. Perhaps they believed the evil force, or maybe they were just too frightened to do anything. The "Team" had their way, but soon, power corrupted their leader. Obviously, he wanted everything, and soon killed his underlings.   
  
No one could be sure what happened after that, but somehow, the world crumbled. Every single person who had Pokémon got them taken; the Pokémon were "broken," a horrific experience which involved savage beatings, until they turned on everything they had known or loved. Most ended up dying quickly, resulting in dark types making u p much of The Organization's fleet of Pokémon.   
  
Humans were imprisoned in the small villages like the one in which Zada lived to prevent any kind of rebellion, and wild Pokémon, always dependent on people, slowly began to perish. As a last resort, the Pokémon mysteriously evolved to possess strange, magical powers. For them, it was simply a powered up attack, but had a twist---if any human was to touch them, that person would gain a duplicate of the power that the Pokémon had and the ability to cast that spell. The Organization had realized that, and now most of them had magical abilities of their own, fierce battle tactics in case of any possible rebellion.   
This was too dangerous an ability for citizens to have, so any normal person who was found guilty of possessing sorcery powers was promptly killed. That was exactly the reason why Zada was running away from the village of horrors, trying to escape from the darkness enveloped chasm. Only a few days ago, the fifteen-year-old girl had encountered a Gastly, and gained the spell of Invisibility.   
  
  
Chapter One  
  
'Just a little closer,' Zada told herself, holding her breath. Buzzing, flowing in front of her with an electric current, was the barrier, the only obstacle left. For now, at least.   
  
Overhead, the moon waned, it's eerie light snagging upon any moving body like a spotlight near a prison. Zada couldn't help chuckling at the metaphor in her mind, for it was utter truth--nights like the current were ones that made it hardest to prowl around in, much less escape some ghetto-like horror that was even worse since it was reality. The girl was crouched in a tiny ball behind a soggy wooden crate, all the time debating the situation in her mind fiercely.   
  
Time was moving quickly, or at least quicker than usual, because Zada could easily see the sky and clouds skimming past overhead in the darkened sky. But that was the odd thing; no matter how dark the clouds which passed under the moon, it still shone through. All it would take was one false move, a twitch to the left, and Zada's black hair would be illuminated like a beacon for The Organization's Houndour to easily track down.   
  
She almost cursed her cowardice. Zada was only a few yards away from her village's barrier. It was a glowing, buzzing, bright wall of electricity--but she insisted on staying and thinking over the entire situation before making any rash decisions. 'Or is it that the only rash thing is the fact I'm just sitting here, wondering if something's rash?'   
  
The shadows provided some shelter for Zada, but not very much—she wasn't quite sure, but had a good idea that Pokémon were stationed at crucial points near the outer parts of the village to catch anyone who wanted to escape. It was almost like a prison, of sorts, except for most people, the electric barrier would kill them on contact. Not for Zada. She hadn't come this far just to die of electrocution.   
  
Like most things, the barrier could be bypassed. It was powered by electric Pokémon, therefore, was made up of some magic. As they say, fight fire with fire; Zada had learned, though she couldn't remember who taught her, that if one was to use an Invisibility spell, they could walk right through the otherwise fatal shield.   
  
Zada sat quietly, thinking while shifting her position uneasily. Her back was now against a large wooden crate which was resting on the mud-caked side of a house. The night had already began to retreat, and in a few hours the sun would rise. 'Then they'll kill me for sure,' Zada laughed to herself. It was either wait to be prosecuted or take a dangerous chance. The girl sighed to herself, quiet enough so that no one would hear, and slumped over. 'I'm doomed, unless I try this…'   
  
There were many reasons to be hesitant. No one had dared to prove the invisibility theory, and if it didn't work, Zada would probably die a long and painful death. She shuddered at the thought of the electricity surging through her body, destroying it's nervous system at a casual pace. Even if it didn't kill her, it was obvious that she would be incapitated for most of her life…  
  
Zada squeezed her eyes shut and rose halfway off of the muddy, grassless ground. To her relief, no Houndour were anywhere near, leaving a clear path only a few yards to the barrier. It was time.   
  
With her eyes still closed, the girl focused her mind on one single thought, repeating it over and over again: Invisibility. She cupped her hands together just as a shining, white ball of energy formed in   
them, illuminating the night with a bright flash. That was enough to send several snarling Houndour bounding into the area, their pupils glowing a fiery red, but they saw nothing.   
  
It enlightened Zada a bit to see the dark-types stalk away while she was, in fact, standing only a few inches away from both. 'Maybe this really will work.' It was an odd feeling, being invisible; when she had first tried the spell out, Zada almost panicked because she couldn't see her hands or feet, but she eventually got used to the feeling. There was a kind of thrill with becoming invisible, knowing that no one can see you, but Zada ignored that, too. It didn't matter at this point.  
  
Nothing mattered.   
  
Zada sucked in her breath, hoping that the Houndour couldn't hear her heart, which was beating like a jackhammer inside her chest. For a split second she wandered if this would work, hesitating, but swallowed the lump forming in her throat and stepped forward.   
  
The sun already was brightening the sky, piercing the secure darkness in which Zada had relied on. About a foot in front of her was the barrier. 'It's either now or never!' Erasing all doubts from her mind, Zada stepped forward, just as the sun rose over the horizon.  
  
Everything happened in a flash. The rays of sun hit Zada's eyes, which instinctively snapped shut as a reaction to the bright, blinding sun. At that same moment, she felt a sharp jolt run through her body, but this one was mild enough to be considered static. It took a few moments for Zada to realize what had just happened. She slowly opened her eyes and spun around.   
  
What a wondrous sight greeted her eyes! Zada was now in front of the barrier, the entire village at that. The barrier was no different than before, and left no trace of escape. Ahead, the morning sunlight illuminated a golden field of grass, surrounded by a thick, brush covered forest. It wouldn't have seemed like much to anyone else, but to Zada it was amazing. Nature seemed to be oblivious of the darkness taking over the land, continuing to bloom and grow. It was the same sight many trainers outside of Saffron City had seen, before the takeover took place. Except one, burning factor pierced the brightness of the sense of freedom and implanted itself in Zada's mind as an example of harsh reality.   
  
There was not a single Pokémon, not even a Rattata, to be found.   
  
---  
  
Strangely enough, the sun had risen high above the bright blue, cloudless sky. The skies were usually enshielded with dark skies and clouds heavy with rain. Not today, though; the weather had somehow pulled off a stunt to welcome Zada into her newfound surroundings and state of mind. At least, that's what she thought, as a gentle breeze blew her dark hair and cloak backwards.   
  
There was an eerie silence that spread throughout the field. Now that she was almost two miles away from the village, a wave of relief was as widespread through Zada's mind as the eerie, chilling silence that was about the field. There was no sign of anything living, breathing, or traveling, except for Zada herself.   
  
The young girl was actually surprised; she had heard that most Poke were extinct, but never truly thought that such a strong species could erode away into practically nothingness. 'Could humans possibly be so important in the survival of anything?' Zada thought about that--about everything--as she walked through the tall grass. A few minutes later, she finally looked up from her boot laden feet to survey her surroundings.   
  
Somehow, Zada had strayed from the straight line in which she had been walking and found out that the field of grass had promptly ended and was replaced with a series of muddy, sparsely vegetated ground. Mountains could be prominently seen in the distance.   
  
"Okay," Zada muttered. She hadn't spoken for quite a while, and it was odd for Zada to hear her own voice. "Okay..." she repeated, holding out the last syllable.   
  
To put it simply, the girl was puzzled. The land had changed so quickly under her nose--Zada was usually quite aware of her surroundings. She turned around to try and see the field again.   
  
Yes, the field wasn't very far away, but something else caught Zada's attention.   
  
Sitting so nonchalantly behind her, fluffy tail plopping up and down, was a Pokémon. A Growlithe.   
  



End file.
